Gender and Age of my African RINGNECK please?

[Javagate]

Hi, I would like to know the age and gender of my african ringneck. I was told that it's a male but the age is more important for me. What could be the age? He makes noises alot! He either has is tail cut or his tail isnt fully grown. He can fly without a problem. He is really afraid of me. İf it's a he actuaaly

 

[WesselG]

If he is indeed male as you were told he is definitely younger than 18 months.

The only sure way to know the age is to have him checked by an avian vet (that can also confirm if it is either male or female) or if you got it from a breeder to ask the breeder when the bird hatched.

Wessel

 

[Javagate]

I got it from a petshop actually and they said it's a male but some other people say its a female what could be the age if it's a feamle?

 

[RavensGryf]

The male (of both African and Indian) Ringnecks will develop the "ring" upon maturity. The age varies between birds, and I don't have firsthand experience, but I've heard from 18 months to 2 years a ring will start to molt in if it's a male.

It's so tough to say how old a bird is. They just don't show signs of age as distinctly as mammals do. Sometimes we can say if the bird looks juvenile or "older" but that's about all. Hard to tell by the picture, but to me it doesn't look REAL young as in under a year. Maybe people experienced with seeing many Ringnecks could take a guess, but that's all it would be from anyone, a guess. Even if a female, it's a beautiful bird. Love the maroon beak of the Africans!

 

[Dinosrawr]

I agree with Wessel and Julie - it's very difficult to determine age in birds, and while the ring is a strong indicator it's not precise. My IRN Shiko is only 6 months old (as of 3 days ago!) and he has a light grey shadow of his ring coming in already. Personally I think your bird is anywhere between 6 months to 18 months, but I couldn't make an exact guess.

As for being male or female, you can either wait for approximately 1-3 years for a distinct male or female ring to develop. That, or you can get a DNA blood test through your avian veterinarian or through a blood testing company for animals (for example, I used a Canadian company that shipped me a blood sampling kit).

Congrats on your new addition, though! ARN's are beautiful birds